Anahid Jewett, a UCLA School of Dentistry faculty member for 26 years and director of the tumor immunology lab, died June 15. She was 66.
Jewett joined the dentistry school in 1999 as a faculty member in what is now the division of biosystems and function, becoming a professor in 2008. She was a member of the Jane and Jerry Weintraub Center for Reconstructive Biotechnology; the Dental and Craniofacial Research Institute; and the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Jewett also served as chair of the dentistry school’s faculty executive committee from 2022–24.
“Dr. Jewett was a brilliant scientist and a generous mentor whose passion for discovery and dedication to her students left a lasting mark on our school,” dean and professor Paul Krebsbach said. “Her contributions to cancer immunotherapy and oral health science are profound, and she will be deeply missed.”
Jewett’s pioneering research in natural killer (NK) cells and their ability to target poorly differentiated tumor cells while sparing healthy, differentiated tissue provided critical insight into the immune system’s selective capacity. The tumor immunology lab became a leader in advancing supercharged NK cells for cancer immunotherapy, including their use in combination treatments with chemotherapeutic drugs or immune checkpoint inhibitors. These innovations led to several patents licensed by biotech firms that are advancing toward clinical trials.
In her honor, UCLA will lower the flag at Dickson Court to half-staff on Aug. 7.
